Scot Drake, Pasadena, CaMember Since May 2008Artist Statement Scot Drake is a Principal Concept Designer for the Blue Sky creative department of Walt Disney Imagineering where he brainstorms concepts and visualizes future attractions and experiences for Disney Park guests. Drake is the lead designer of the new Disneyland Monorail Mark VII trains, opening at the Disneyland® Resort in 2008. Many of his concepts are considered "top secret" because they involve the future expansion of Disney Parks and Resorts around the world. Drake's first role with Imagineering was in 1996 as an intern working on DisneyQuest, an indoor interactive theme park at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. He returned to Imagineering as a consultant in 1998 and became a full-time senior concept designer in 2000. Some of the projects that Drake has been associated with that made it out of the Blue Sky concept phase and into attractions for guests include Turtle Talk with Crush (Disney's California Adventure® park, Epcot®, Hong Kong Disneyland®), Spaceship Earth refurbishment and Mission: SPACE (Epcot®), the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland®, murals for Tomorrowland (Disneyland®), Sindbad's Storybook Voyage (Tokyo DisneySea), the forthcoming American Idol Experience (Disney's Hollywood Studios®) and the current expansion of Disney's California Adventure® park.Prior to working for Walt Disney Imagineering, Drake held positions with Universal Creative, Idea Labs and BRC Imagination Arts as a concept designer. He taught Visual Communication at the Gnomon School of Visual Arts, Advanced Digital Painting at UCLA and continues to teach Digital Painting for Entertainment and Visual Communications at the Art Center College of Design, which he has taught for the past several years. Drake attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena in the Transportation Department, with a focus on Entertainment Design.